Torpedo-boat



W. O. CUTTER.

TORPEDO BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEETI.

Patented Oct. 19

W. 0. CUTTER.

TORPEDO BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25 1918.

1920. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Oct. 19,

UNITED STATES WILLIAM O. CUTTER, OF EAST WAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

TORPEDO-BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed March 25, 1918. Serial No. 224,569.

2" 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM O. CUTTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at East VVareham, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Torpedo- Boats, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to improvements in torpedo boats and the object thereof is to provide a small, compact boat capable of being operated at a high rate of speed by one man, if necessary, to convey and discharge a torpedo at a' certain object, said boat having a substantially 'invulnerable compartment within which the operator thereof is stationed and capable of floating independently of the other sections of said boat, and even though practically all other portions of the boat may have been shot away or destroyed, the operators compartment will remain substantially intact and may be quickly disconnected from what is left of the other sections and remain afloat. until the operator thereof has been rescued.'

Another object of the invention is in the rovision of means extending to all sections of the boat from the operators compartment for the purpose of operating the various devices carried by'said sections, such as the torpedo instrumentalitiesand the steering and propelling instrumentalities, said means being so formed that when the operators compartment is disconnected from the other portions of the boat, said connecting means will be automatically disconnected, thereby freeing itselffrom any of the injured portions of the boat.

Another object of the invention is to. provide a boat which maybe constructed very cheaply so that in caseit is destroyed by enemy gun fire or otherwise, its loss will not be of very great importance. Furthermore, the boat is capable of floating with only a portion of the same protruding from the water, so that it will be practically unobserved as it approaches its object. v

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth inythe following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims. a

Referring 'to the draw'ingsfl V Figure 1 is a plan View of a boat embodying my invention, portions thereof being broken away to save space in the drawings.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the forward portion of the boat.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the prow, illustrating the opening through which the torpedoes are discharged.

Fig. 1 is a transverse section taken on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through the stern section of the boat.

Fig. 6,is a detail vertical section through the central portion of the boat, illustrating the manner in which the operating section and forward and stern sections are joined together.

Fig; 7 is a detail section illustrating the means for locking the forward and stern sections together.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the'drawings.

In the drawings, 1 is the forward section, 2 the stern section and 3the operating section of a boat. The forward and stern sections of the boat are placed end to end and in abutting relation, Ipreferably along the line indicated at 4:, *ig. 1. The forward section 1 of said boat is provided with a bulkhead 5 disposed at a distance from the edge 4' and the section v2 is provided with a bulkhead 6 disposed at a distance from the abutting end 4c thereof, so that when the two sections are secured together achamber 7 will be formed, partly in one section and and is provided with a suitable ballast 8uto prevent the same from rolling unnecessarily.

The section Shas an opening 9 at the top which is provided with a cover 10 pivotally mounted thereon and adapted to be securely fastened by fastening means 11 to prevent waterfrom splashing into the interior'of said section. The cover 10 also has support ed thereon an upwardly extending ventilating device 12 comprising a series of shutters said torpedo.

13 arranged preferably in the rear wall thereof through which air may be taken from the atmosphere above the surface of the water, and these shutters are adapted to be opened and closed from the interior of the section so that when the sea is very rough the waves will be prevented from splashing into the same.

A periscope 14 is also preferably mounted on the cover 10 so that the operator there-.

of may be able to properly guide the boat. The two sections 1 and 20f the boat are cut away at 15 and 16 respectively to provide space whereby the cover 10 may be opened or closed by the operator of the boat so as to provide access to the interior.

The forward section 1 and the stern section 2 are provided with hatches 17 and 18 respectively in the decks. thereof,.through which access may be had to the interiors of these sections, these bein the only openings for said sections. he forward section of said boat is preferably provided with a torpedo tube 19 capable ofholding, in the present instance, one torpedo 20 said tube having an opening 21. at the forward end thereof through a bulkhead 22 formed in the bow of the boat for the purpose of preventing water'from entering the main por- :tion of said boat.

The tube 19 has communication, through said opening '21, with a small compartment 23 formed in the bow of said boat, and this compartment, in turn, has openings 24 through which the torpedo may be ejected into the water. Under normal sailing conditions, it is desirable to keep the openings 24 closed so thatthe chamber 23 and the interior of the torpedo tube will not provide too much resistance to the progress of the boat, and for this purpose doors 25 and26 are pivotally secured to the-side of the boat by hinges 27 which have longitudinally dis posed axes,.and these doors may be norn1al1-yheld-closed by suitabale means such, for instance, as springs '28 and 29 respectively. a

Guards 30, 30 are formed'on said doors to be engaged by the torpedo which is being discharged, and these guards assist in forcing said doors open sufliciently wide to preventthe interference with the movements of The stern section preferably contains the propelling instrumentalities which include, in the present instance, an engine "31 and fuel tank 32, said engine being provided with a shaft 33 which extends to the stern of the boatwhere it has attached thereto a propeller 34. I

I A fin 35 extends upwardly from the deck of the stern section of the boat to a point normally above the waterlineand provides a shield for a pipe 36 through which air is drawn to the carbureter of the engine. The operations of the engine 31 are controlled to the forward section 1 of said boat.

. the inner end thereof a wheel 39 constituting the steering wheel for the'boat. The shaft 37 and the sleeve 38 are each formed in two sections 37, 37 2 and 38, 38 respectively and these sections are joined together by couplings 40 and 41 respectively'which are interposed preferably between the bulkhead-6 and the section v3 and are adapted to automatically disconnectwhen the section 3 is'separated from the forward :and stern sections of the boat. 7 V

.The sleeve 38 is operatively connected with a :rudder- 42 arranged at the stern of the boat, by means of ashaft -43, sprockets 44 and 45 and chain 46. The torpedo 20 is, in the present embodiment, adapted to be ejected from-the torpedo tube '19 by compressed air which is preferablysupplied, through a-tube 47, from a tank 48 arranged within the stern section 2.

The tube 47 passes through the. compartment 7, beneath the section 3' and in order :to permit the sections '1 and 2 to be separated when required,it is necessary that a coupling be inserted in the pipe 47. This coupling preferably embodies in its construetion a. valve .casing49 containing a valve 50 operated from the interior of the section 3.

The two sections of the tube 47 are inserted in opposite ends of the casing 49 and these sections are adapted to be readily disconnected when-anything happens to the two sections of the boat which would require the of a shaft 53 arranged within the section 3 and transversely thereof, said hooks being arranged to engage projections 54 attached a j The shaft 53 has a lever 55 secured thereto within the section 3 and by ,whichithe operator j may rock said shaft 53 when it isdesiredto connect or disconnect the section3 from the section 1.

The hooks 52 are securedtdopposite ends of ashaft 56 which is likewise journaled to rock transversely of the section '3, and this shaft also has attached to it an operating lever 57 to enable the operatorto more easily rock the shaft when it-becomes necessary'to disengage the hooks-52 fromprojec 1 105' separation thereof. The sections land 2 section and in case the forward and sternsections are destroyed or injured so as to retard the progress of the boat, either one or both of said sections may be disconnected from the operators section. If the forward section is released, the stern section may still supply power to propel the operating section to a place of safety, or if both forward and stern sections are destroyed the operating section may be disconnected from both and remain afloat until rescued.

Having thus specifically described my invention what I claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

1. A boat comprising a forward section, a stern section, anoperating section constructed and arranged to be inclosed by said forward and stern sections, and means for detachably securing said sections together.

2. A boat comprising a forward section, a stern section, an operating section constructed and arranged to be inclosed by said forward and stern sections, and means operable from within said operating section adapted to secure said sections together.

3. A boat comprising a forward section, a stern section, an operating section adapted to be one half inclosed by said forward section and one half by said stern section, and means operable from within said operating section adapted to secure said forward and stern sections to said operating section.

4. A boat comprising a plurality of independent sections, one of said sections constituting an operating compartment and being inclosed by said other sections, and means operable from within said operating compartment constructed and arranged to detachably secure said plurality of sections together.

5. A boat comprising a forward section, a stern section detachably connected with said forward section, and a spherical casing arranged one half in said forward section and one half in said stern section, said spherical casing constituting an operating compartment.

6. A boat having, in combination, a forward section and a stern section arranged end to end, a bulk head for the adjoinlng ends of each of said sections, an operating section arranged between the bulk heads of said forward and stern sections but inclosed thereby and independent of said sections, and means for detachably securing said several sections together.

.7. A boat having, in combination, a forward section, a torpedo tube arranged in said forward section, a stern section detachably connected with said forward section, steering means for said boat, propelling means therefor, means for discharging a torpedo from said tube, an operating section inclosed between said forward and stern sections, and operating instrumentalities arranged within said operating section and extending therefrom to said steering means, said propelling means and said torpedo discharging means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM' O. CUTTER. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. GooniNG, SYDNEY E. TAM. 

